WSTM-TV president: NBC listened to affiliates in moving Jay Leno show

Gerald Herbert / APNBC has asked that Jay Leno, shown on the set of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," move his prime-time show back to its 11:35 p.m. time slot.Syracuse, NY -- The president and CEO of Syracuse’s NBC affiliate said today he thinks network officials made a brave move in asking Jay Leno to move his talk show from 10 p.m. back to its longtime position following the 11 p.m. news.

NBC officials listened to the network’s affiliates association, which had voiced concern that the lead-in of Leno’s hourlong show “was trending toward” lower ratings for local news shows, said Chris Geiger of WSTM-TV (Channel 3).

Geiger said he thought that moving Leno’s weeknight show from 11:35 p.m. to 10 p.m. was a brave move for the network, too.

“I admire the fact that they were willing to do something new,” he said. “They had the No. 1 personality in show business, and took a chance.”

NBC officials on Sunday proposed that Leno move back to 11:35 p.m. after the Winter Olympics in February. The new show would run 30 minutes, followed by Conan O’Brien’s show at 12:05 a.m. and Jimmy Fallon’s at 1:05 a.m., both starting a half-hour later than they do currently.

“It’s our hope that NBC keeps Leno, keeps Conan O’Brien and keeps Jimmy Fallon,” Geiger said. “Whether that works out, we’ll see. Leno was No. 1 (late night) in the country and in Syracuse for many years.”